Japan Tourist’s Suitcases Are Frustrating Locals

Unseen Japan
5 min readOct 4, 2024

In response, Japan is pushing tourists to consider “hands-free travel.”

Picture: Canva

By Jay Andrew Allen

As more inbound tourists pour into Japan, locals are facing an onslaught of issues brought on by overtourism. The one that seems to be irritating people the most lately? Travelers clogging up public transit with their large, clunky suitcases. As Japanese residents complain on social media, some cities and transit companies are pushing visitors to switch to “hands-free travel.”

The baggage crunch

Picture: mits / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

With Japan serving over three million tourists a month, the country’s transportation systems have struggled to keep up. The spike has caused a taxi shortage, leading Japan to legalize unlicensed gig-economy taxi drivers for the first time. (It’s also caused a spike in illegal taxi services.)

Public transit is also clogging up. In Kyoto, residents have complained that, sometimes, there’s no room for them to board so they can get to work or school. (That inspired Kyoto to launch dedicated buses just for tourists.)

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